An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots; each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'
The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'
'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'
'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
~ Author Unknown
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Red Marbles... Oldie, but goodie
RED MARBLES
I was at the corner grocery store Buying some early potatoes.
I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.
Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya.
Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good.
Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble". Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I
agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an Army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.
With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change
his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
The Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~
I was at the corner grocery store Buying some early potatoes.
I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.
Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya.
Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good.
Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble". Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I
agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an Army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.
With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change
his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
The Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Seems Like Yesterday
11 years,... that's how old our oldest, Courtney, is today. Time seems like it has just flown by at hyper-speed! Oh, the joy she has brought into our lives,... all of our children have, but being Courtney's birthday today, I just want to reflect a little.
I remember how nervous I was when I took the test. I felt so sure that I was pregnant, but we had been trying for so long. I had already experienced 3 agonizing miscarriages, and the last one had landed me in urgent surgery and then a close cancer watch where I had weekly blood draws for 4 months, and then monthly for another year beyond that before they declared I was clear. It was finally okay for us to try again,.....
I was soooooo nervous taking that test!! I finally got up the nerve to pee on the damn stick, and almost instantly a line formed that was so bold it almost looked 3-D. I thought I was going to pass out,.. I was so ecstatic!
The first three months were the hardest for me, not because of morning sickness, but because I had never made it beyond the beginning of the second trimester before. I was both happy & scared to death at the same time... and then as each month passed by, I grew a little more relaxed, but not a day went by that I didn't thank God that I was still pregnant... that is, until we got towards the end, LOL.
I think most women start to get antsy towards the end of their pregnancies,.. you are so big & heavy that you can't even see your own two feet anymore. Your husband could put two completely different shoes on your feet just for laughs, and you would never know unless of course someone had the balls to tell you in which case they would risk the motherload of all meltdowns,...an uncontrolled, hormone-invigorated, tearful version of Niagra Falls, if you will. Ah, the pregnant woman is nothing to reckon with...... Add the fact that I was due in July, and the temperatures were easily exceeding 100 degrees almost daily that summer, and my darling unborn daughter seemed to be fanatically entertained with kicking me in the naval so much so that it created a huge purple bruise the size of a silver dollar on the OUTSIDE of my stomach,..... it was either that, or using my bladder as a punching bag whereas on at least 2 occasions I recall peeing my pants (thx, sweetie), LMAO. So, yeah, by then I was ready to not be pregnant anymore. =P
But, it was a 'like-mother-like-daughter' sort of deal, and it turned out that she's as stuborn as I am..... she went 12 days overdue, they induced me heavily for three days,........76 hours & 32 minutes of labor later, she was finally born, weighing in at a whopping 10 (yes, I said TEN) pounds, and measured 22"!
And,........... it was one of THE GREATEST days in my life.
And, for the past 11 years, not a day has gone by that I haven't thanked God for her,... not a day has gone by that she hasn't made me feel great joy beyond words.............. 'my cup runneth over' kind of joy!
Motherhood is hard work. It takes love, patience, dedication, and commitment,... it's 24/7 with no time off,.. not even for 5 minutes to pee in private,.... and sleep? What's that?! LOL
But,... regardless of anything & everything,... it is the GREATEST and most REWARDING job a woman can ever be blessed with.
For this honor, I am eternally grateful.
I remember how nervous I was when I took the test. I felt so sure that I was pregnant, but we had been trying for so long. I had already experienced 3 agonizing miscarriages, and the last one had landed me in urgent surgery and then a close cancer watch where I had weekly blood draws for 4 months, and then monthly for another year beyond that before they declared I was clear. It was finally okay for us to try again,.....
I was soooooo nervous taking that test!! I finally got up the nerve to pee on the damn stick, and almost instantly a line formed that was so bold it almost looked 3-D. I thought I was going to pass out,.. I was so ecstatic!
The first three months were the hardest for me, not because of morning sickness, but because I had never made it beyond the beginning of the second trimester before. I was both happy & scared to death at the same time... and then as each month passed by, I grew a little more relaxed, but not a day went by that I didn't thank God that I was still pregnant... that is, until we got towards the end, LOL.
I think most women start to get antsy towards the end of their pregnancies,.. you are so big & heavy that you can't even see your own two feet anymore. Your husband could put two completely different shoes on your feet just for laughs, and you would never know unless of course someone had the balls to tell you in which case they would risk the motherload of all meltdowns,...an uncontrolled, hormone-invigorated, tearful version of Niagra Falls, if you will. Ah, the pregnant woman is nothing to reckon with...... Add the fact that I was due in July, and the temperatures were easily exceeding 100 degrees almost daily that summer, and my darling unborn daughter seemed to be fanatically entertained with kicking me in the naval so much so that it created a huge purple bruise the size of a silver dollar on the OUTSIDE of my stomach,..... it was either that, or using my bladder as a punching bag whereas on at least 2 occasions I recall peeing my pants (thx, sweetie), LMAO. So, yeah, by then I was ready to not be pregnant anymore. =P
But, it was a 'like-mother-like-daughter' sort of deal, and it turned out that she's as stuborn as I am..... she went 12 days overdue, they induced me heavily for three days,........76 hours & 32 minutes of labor later, she was finally born, weighing in at a whopping 10 (yes, I said TEN) pounds, and measured 22"!
And,........... it was one of THE GREATEST days in my life.
And, for the past 11 years, not a day has gone by that I haven't thanked God for her,... not a day has gone by that she hasn't made me feel great joy beyond words.............. 'my cup runneth over' kind of joy!
Motherhood is hard work. It takes love, patience, dedication, and commitment,... it's 24/7 with no time off,.. not even for 5 minutes to pee in private,.... and sleep? What's that?! LOL
But,... regardless of anything & everything,... it is the GREATEST and most REWARDING job a woman can ever be blessed with.
For this honor, I am eternally grateful.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog...
So we're finally back home,.. AGAIN. I swear, I think if I never see that hospital again, it will be too soon.
We went back to the hospital this morning, and hung out with him for about an hour, but they had decided to keep him until at least mid afternoon, possibly early evening, and so with the baby {Bailey}at home in her crate, I've been doing a lot of running back & forth so as not to leave her stuck in there for too long of periods at a time. Did that yesterday, too, and so I feel like I've spent most of the past two days,.... ON. THE. ROAD. I'm pooped! And traffic? Fugettaboutit,.. gridlocked in all directions... thank goodness I know the back roads! It's not perfect, you hit an occasional piece of farm equipment, but it sure beats sitting at a near standstill for 2 hours in the hot sun, any day of the week, even with the A/C blowing snowflakes out the vents, LOL.
Anyway, we finally got out of the hospital just after 5:30 PM. We're home, settled in, he's elevated, iced, & medicated, and I'm about ready to get 'medicated' myself. *wink* As lazy as it sounds, I think I'm gonna pop my pills, plop down in front of the boob tube, watch some animal planet, and then give in to the pleading I'm already hearing from my pillow................ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
We went back to the hospital this morning, and hung out with him for about an hour, but they had decided to keep him until at least mid afternoon, possibly early evening, and so with the baby {Bailey}at home in her crate, I've been doing a lot of running back & forth so as not to leave her stuck in there for too long of periods at a time. Did that yesterday, too, and so I feel like I've spent most of the past two days,.... ON. THE. ROAD. I'm pooped! And traffic? Fugettaboutit,.. gridlocked in all directions... thank goodness I know the back roads! It's not perfect, you hit an occasional piece of farm equipment, but it sure beats sitting at a near standstill for 2 hours in the hot sun, any day of the week, even with the A/C blowing snowflakes out the vents, LOL.
Anyway, we finally got out of the hospital just after 5:30 PM. We're home, settled in, he's elevated, iced, & medicated, and I'm about ready to get 'medicated' myself. *wink* As lazy as it sounds, I think I'm gonna pop my pills, plop down in front of the boob tube, watch some animal planet, and then give in to the pleading I'm already hearing from my pillow................ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
He's All 'Screwy'
It's late & I'm beat so I'm going to keep this short & sweet... Okay, 'short' per ME, LOL.
Scott's fine, the surgery was successful, but he's in a TREMENDOUS amount of pain, and they have decided to keep him overnight. The surgeon showed me the orthoscopic pics from during the surgery and post-surgical x-rays.It took about an hour longer than anticipated because she had to try to figure out what to do & how or if she could even do anything. The original gameplan changed because once she got in there, she was able to see that the damage was much worse than the previous x-rays and cat scan had revealed, and she said she had never seen anything quite like his injuries. I'm not going to go into all the details, but long story short, he has had the chip removed because it could not be repaired, he has one dissolvable pin, not three,.. the second would have been to repair the chip, and the third was changed to an actual screw through both bones in the back of his ankle/foot. It's about a 2" screw to hold things in place there because the damage was extensive. He also has ligament damage. I will pick him tomorrow and bring him home, they've pretty well got him in traction tonight, and the pain was so severe they had to hold him recovery about twice as long as anticipated, and they also had to do what they called a 'block',... similar to a spinal block, but this went directly into his leg, which is more extensive than his IV. He'll have a follow-up with the ortho-surgeon in 10-14 days, then they'll do the perma-cast for about 4 weeks, and then it sounds like they'll plan to take it off after that & maybe do some physical therapy. In 6 months, they'll consider whether to go back in and remove the screw, or leave it there permanently. She said his injury is so extensive that he is at high risk for post stress arthritis which can be very painful, but that it could take up to a couple of years to know for sure what the permanent damage will be. Either way, she was confident that he will make a full recovery, and have full mobility of that foot.
That's a wrap, I'm off to bed.
Scott's fine, the surgery was successful, but he's in a TREMENDOUS amount of pain, and they have decided to keep him overnight. The surgeon showed me the orthoscopic pics from during the surgery and post-surgical x-rays.It took about an hour longer than anticipated because she had to try to figure out what to do & how or if she could even do anything. The original gameplan changed because once she got in there, she was able to see that the damage was much worse than the previous x-rays and cat scan had revealed, and she said she had never seen anything quite like his injuries. I'm not going to go into all the details, but long story short, he has had the chip removed because it could not be repaired, he has one dissolvable pin, not three,.. the second would have been to repair the chip, and the third was changed to an actual screw through both bones in the back of his ankle/foot. It's about a 2" screw to hold things in place there because the damage was extensive. He also has ligament damage. I will pick him tomorrow and bring him home, they've pretty well got him in traction tonight, and the pain was so severe they had to hold him recovery about twice as long as anticipated, and they also had to do what they called a 'block',... similar to a spinal block, but this went directly into his leg, which is more extensive than his IV. He'll have a follow-up with the ortho-surgeon in 10-14 days, then they'll do the perma-cast for about 4 weeks, and then it sounds like they'll plan to take it off after that & maybe do some physical therapy. In 6 months, they'll consider whether to go back in and remove the screw, or leave it there permanently. She said his injury is so extensive that he is at high risk for post stress arthritis which can be very painful, but that it could take up to a couple of years to know for sure what the permanent damage will be. Either way, she was confident that he will make a full recovery, and have full mobility of that foot.
That's a wrap, I'm off to bed.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Back to the hospital!
Yup, you heard me right,.. we're going BACK to the hospital. Our family can't seem to stay out of St. V's. We finally get one out, and another one goes in! Same thing happened last year,.. Scott had his open-heart surgery, and the day after he came home, his mom ended up there. She got out, and it seemed only a short while later, and his dad ended up there with 2 broken feet. Now his mom ends up in the hospital for 3 weeks, and the day after she got to go home, Scott had his accident, and ended up there. And now Thursday we go back again.
We saw the orthopedist @ Interstate on Thursday, they rewrapped his foot/leg in a third temp. cast, and then sent us to see the orthopedic surgeon at MJ Plaza Friday morning where they wrapped his foot/leg with a fourth temp. cast only this time they didn't remove the old one, they put it over top of the last one. The thing is huge and heavy.
They said they would just cast it in a perma cast and let the two fractures (we thought there was just one plus the bone chip, but apparently there are two plus the bone chip) heal on their own, but the bone chip is too close to his tendons, putting him at risk for some potentially serious damage so they need to go in and remove it. They'll try it orthoscopically first, but if that's unsuccessful, they'll have to open it up, and do it that way. And, they've decided that as long as they're going to be in there anyway now, they may as well pin the two fractures to ensure they heal as properly & alligned as possible. They're going to use disposable pins,.... didn't even know they made them disposable so that's pretty cool! Now he won't have to worry about setting off any metal detectors at the airport or courthouses, LOL!
Yesterday, we went to Carol's Celebration of Life party at her cousin's house, and that was pretty cool. It turned into a big ol' potluck with a vast amount & variety of people close to her ranging from family, friends, co-workers, and even our Billy Bob (& Bobettes!) group,...........................very, VERY cool.
They're getting Hospice set up today. They'll be at the house meeting with her in about an hour.
Scott went to the shop today. I can't believe I managed to get him to stay home and in bed for 2 weeks! It was a struggle just to manage to keep him home for 2 weeks after his open-heart surgery last year so I'm amazed that I got him to stay home that long for a broken foot. He didn't get as much rest as I would have liked,.... the phone rang off the hook, both our landline, and his cell phone, and even mine a few times. We brought as much stuff home as possible so he could still work,.... sprawled it out on the hide-a-bed in the family room, and so at least he could lie back, and keep his foot elevated, iced, and all that. Better than being at the shop in this condition,... but he did go back today. His dad came & picked him up about and hour and a half ago. We'll see how he does... his surgery is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Should just be a day surgery, and then I'll have him home through the weekend, preferrably longer, but he's already planning to go back to work the following Monday,.... stuborn ox, LOL. After the swelling goes back down enough then they'll perma cast him for about 4 more weeks, and then they'll remove that & have him do some physical therapy exercises to re-strengthen & condition it before he has full use & ranger of motion of his foot again. In other words,... his summer is screwed. No ATV, no dirtbike, no streetbike. Lesson learned? Heck no! He's already planning his next ride.................................MEN! *rolls eyes*
We saw the orthopedist @ Interstate on Thursday, they rewrapped his foot/leg in a third temp. cast, and then sent us to see the orthopedic surgeon at MJ Plaza Friday morning where they wrapped his foot/leg with a fourth temp. cast only this time they didn't remove the old one, they put it over top of the last one. The thing is huge and heavy.
They said they would just cast it in a perma cast and let the two fractures (we thought there was just one plus the bone chip, but apparently there are two plus the bone chip) heal on their own, but the bone chip is too close to his tendons, putting him at risk for some potentially serious damage so they need to go in and remove it. They'll try it orthoscopically first, but if that's unsuccessful, they'll have to open it up, and do it that way. And, they've decided that as long as they're going to be in there anyway now, they may as well pin the two fractures to ensure they heal as properly & alligned as possible. They're going to use disposable pins,.... didn't even know they made them disposable so that's pretty cool! Now he won't have to worry about setting off any metal detectors at the airport or courthouses, LOL!
Yesterday, we went to Carol's Celebration of Life party at her cousin's house, and that was pretty cool. It turned into a big ol' potluck with a vast amount & variety of people close to her ranging from family, friends, co-workers, and even our Billy Bob (& Bobettes!) group,...........................very, VERY cool.
They're getting Hospice set up today. They'll be at the house meeting with her in about an hour.
Scott went to the shop today. I can't believe I managed to get him to stay home and in bed for 2 weeks! It was a struggle just to manage to keep him home for 2 weeks after his open-heart surgery last year so I'm amazed that I got him to stay home that long for a broken foot. He didn't get as much rest as I would have liked,.... the phone rang off the hook, both our landline, and his cell phone, and even mine a few times. We brought as much stuff home as possible so he could still work,.... sprawled it out on the hide-a-bed in the family room, and so at least he could lie back, and keep his foot elevated, iced, and all that. Better than being at the shop in this condition,... but he did go back today. His dad came & picked him up about and hour and a half ago. We'll see how he does... his surgery is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Should just be a day surgery, and then I'll have him home through the weekend, preferrably longer, but he's already planning to go back to work the following Monday,.... stuborn ox, LOL. After the swelling goes back down enough then they'll perma cast him for about 4 more weeks, and then they'll remove that & have him do some physical therapy exercises to re-strengthen & condition it before he has full use & ranger of motion of his foot again. In other words,... his summer is screwed. No ATV, no dirtbike, no streetbike. Lesson learned? Heck no! He's already planning his next ride.................................MEN! *rolls eyes*
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Yankey Doodle Dandy
It's been a long week, and I feel like I've been growing more & more exhausted as the days roll by. This yankey doodle gal is anything but feeling dandy, today.
We had a scare Monday evening. Scott's leg started hurting intensley, and his heel was throbbing. His leg & foot turned mustard yellow with dark purple bruising, and swelled bigger than it had since he broke his ankle a week ago. So, I called the orthopedic advice nurse to see what they thought about it. They said it sounded like a possible blood clot, and that I should take him to urgent care immediately to get an ultrasound. He also said if I didn't think I could get him into the car maybe I should call 911 after I hung up with him.
Scott didn't want to do that so I pulled the car into the front yard up to the front door so he wouldn't have as far to go (forget what the neighbor's think, right? LOL), and we headed off to urgent care. There, we got ignored, and I got irritated so I said, "Is somebody going to help us, or do we need to go to the emergency room?" The nurse got lippy with me, and so I bluntly told her I didn't need an attitude, I needed someone to do their job and help us. We bantered back & forth, she walked away and a different RN came over to help us out. Then, they assigned us to a Dr., that doctor was already out in the lobby, and chitchatting away with someone, and didn't give us the time of day for several minutes until another RN came over, and asked her if she was going to see us or not,... it was frustrating.
The doctor said she didn't think it was a blood clot, and so she wasn't going to do an ultrasound. She ordered a shot of morphine for him, and a blood test, and sent us home..... oh, after they discovered that his temporary cast was too tight in the back, and pinching off his circulation, and recast it for him.
I got him home & settled, and then ran up to get pizza and movies,... Just as I was getting in the car to head back home, he calls me, and tells me that the Dr's office called him and said his blood test was really high, he did indeed have a blood clot, and we needed to get him to the emergency room ASAP.... and this was FOUR HOURS after we had initially went in for help! He told them I'd be back in about 10 minutes, they said, get a hold of her, and get to the ER NOW. I hurried home, and in that short few minutes, they called AGAIN to make sure we were going to get to the ER quickly. And you know, although I was worried, I was also thinking, "If this is so urgent, why didn't they call him a friggin ambulance?!" So, we get to the hospital, and they take him back,.. I got my mom to come take the kids to her house for the night, and then went back to be with him. Then we find out that the ER doc was so ticked off about the whole thing that he called the doctor's office, and chewed them out. Scott did not have signs of a blood clot, and his blood test results were of course going to be high because he broke his friggin ankle, and that he could have been resting at home instead of scaring the hell out of us.
But as long as we were there, he decided to go ahead and do the ultrasound for our piece of mind since we had already played a stressful game of yo-yo,..... it's a blood clot, no it's not, yes it is, no its not again,..... So, they checked, and it was not a blood clot, and we finally got to come home at 1:00 AM. *sigh*
It took awhile to get him back in the house, and settled again, and then tend to the dogs, and so forth, so I didn't get to bed until 2, and then had to get back up at 6 to go pick up the kids.
It has been 8 days today since Scott broke his ankle, and believe it or not, he still has not had a follow-up with the orthopedist,.... they're 'working him in' tomorrow morning at 10:30. He should have been in with someone within 3-5 days NOT 9.
Anyway,.. he has been staying as immobile as possible, with his leg elevated, and we're celebrating the 4th indoors wiith NBC and CBS this year,...... but that's okay. He's still been in excruciating pain anytime he moves, and many times even when he doesn't so it's best to keep him in bed until he gets it set.
Thanks to those who invited us to come share in your BBQs and fireworks,... sorry we couldn't join you, but we hope you have a fun & safe Independance Day!
Mad love to you all.
We had a scare Monday evening. Scott's leg started hurting intensley, and his heel was throbbing. His leg & foot turned mustard yellow with dark purple bruising, and swelled bigger than it had since he broke his ankle a week ago. So, I called the orthopedic advice nurse to see what they thought about it. They said it sounded like a possible blood clot, and that I should take him to urgent care immediately to get an ultrasound. He also said if I didn't think I could get him into the car maybe I should call 911 after I hung up with him.
Scott didn't want to do that so I pulled the car into the front yard up to the front door so he wouldn't have as far to go (forget what the neighbor's think, right? LOL), and we headed off to urgent care. There, we got ignored, and I got irritated so I said, "Is somebody going to help us, or do we need to go to the emergency room?" The nurse got lippy with me, and so I bluntly told her I didn't need an attitude, I needed someone to do their job and help us. We bantered back & forth, she walked away and a different RN came over to help us out. Then, they assigned us to a Dr., that doctor was already out in the lobby, and chitchatting away with someone, and didn't give us the time of day for several minutes until another RN came over, and asked her if she was going to see us or not,... it was frustrating.
The doctor said she didn't think it was a blood clot, and so she wasn't going to do an ultrasound. She ordered a shot of morphine for him, and a blood test, and sent us home..... oh, after they discovered that his temporary cast was too tight in the back, and pinching off his circulation, and recast it for him.
I got him home & settled, and then ran up to get pizza and movies,... Just as I was getting in the car to head back home, he calls me, and tells me that the Dr's office called him and said his blood test was really high, he did indeed have a blood clot, and we needed to get him to the emergency room ASAP.... and this was FOUR HOURS after we had initially went in for help! He told them I'd be back in about 10 minutes, they said, get a hold of her, and get to the ER NOW. I hurried home, and in that short few minutes, they called AGAIN to make sure we were going to get to the ER quickly. And you know, although I was worried, I was also thinking, "If this is so urgent, why didn't they call him a friggin ambulance?!" So, we get to the hospital, and they take him back,.. I got my mom to come take the kids to her house for the night, and then went back to be with him. Then we find out that the ER doc was so ticked off about the whole thing that he called the doctor's office, and chewed them out. Scott did not have signs of a blood clot, and his blood test results were of course going to be high because he broke his friggin ankle, and that he could have been resting at home instead of scaring the hell out of us.
But as long as we were there, he decided to go ahead and do the ultrasound for our piece of mind since we had already played a stressful game of yo-yo,..... it's a blood clot, no it's not, yes it is, no its not again,..... So, they checked, and it was not a blood clot, and we finally got to come home at 1:00 AM. *sigh*
It took awhile to get him back in the house, and settled again, and then tend to the dogs, and so forth, so I didn't get to bed until 2, and then had to get back up at 6 to go pick up the kids.
It has been 8 days today since Scott broke his ankle, and believe it or not, he still has not had a follow-up with the orthopedist,.... they're 'working him in' tomorrow morning at 10:30. He should have been in with someone within 3-5 days NOT 9.
Anyway,.. he has been staying as immobile as possible, with his leg elevated, and we're celebrating the 4th indoors wiith NBC and CBS this year,...... but that's okay. He's still been in excruciating pain anytime he moves, and many times even when he doesn't so it's best to keep him in bed until he gets it set.
Thanks to those who invited us to come share in your BBQs and fireworks,... sorry we couldn't join you, but we hope you have a fun & safe Independance Day!
Mad love to you all.
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